whosniffedme

Hey look, another problem! My battery was going out, swapped it a week ago. Checked the alternator, everything's o-a-k. I try to turn the car over to go to work, nothing, electrical is fine, everything is working, just no crank. I reconnect the battery fires right back up. I've had to do this four times in the past two days.

I'm assuming it's some kind of bull**** sensor or something else pointless. I've done research, not finding much. Thoughts?

tx_zstang

What do you mean by this:

You get it to crank, but not always?
Are you saying, if you disconnect the battery when you finish driving it, then reconnect before starting, it'll start right up? That would indicate a drain or a battery or a charging issue. Howlong does it sit before starting it? Are you turning the radio off before turning off the key? What battery and alternator brands have been put in?

BWfVA

From what I am gathering. The battery is hooked up until he goes out to start it. When he gets in and tries to crank it, it does nothing. So he gets out disconnects it for a short time then reconnects it. Then the car starts and runs fine.

Not a clue but hopefully that clarifies for others who might

shinerttu

Check your battery terminals and connectors, if there is corrosion building up on either it might explain having to wiggle or reconnect the connectors.

Or.. you have a short draining your batter when its off. Any aftermarket electronics in the vehicle?

whosniffedme

Yes the battery is connected when I try and crank it, but if I disconnect and reconnect with the key on it starts fine. Stock alternator, Duralast Gold battery, no corrosion on terminals and starter cable is well connected. As far as aftermarket electronics nothing that would interfere with it cranking.

algregory

FYI could be way out in left field here, but many years ago I was stuck with a Chevy that got me there, but wasn't going to take me home. I had washed the engine the day before. I was getting NOTHING with the start try. Not a peep. Gauge was showing big negative. Pulled the terminals, they looked just fine, used the good old battery terminal brush anyway, any port in a storm, started right up, not an issue again. About a year ago, I had the battery in and out of my FJR1300 and had a "similar" issue, cleaned the terminals that had looked just fine and dandy, "similar" issue went away. FWIW

Art161

With the battery connected, measure the resistance from the positive battery post to the positive battery terminal. It should be zero ohms. Measure the resistance from the negative battery post to the negative battery terminal and also from the negative battery post the ground cable connection on the engine. The reading from post to terminal should be zero ohms; from the post to the connection on the engine it should be no more than five ohms.

It doesn't seem to me that the issue you describe would indicate a bad starter, alternator, battery, or excessive parasitic draw. If one or more of these were the cause, the car would not start just because you disconnected the battery terminals from the battery posts for a period of time.

If you're sure it's not a loose or dirty connection, then you're not going to like my next statement. It could be a bad SJB or PCM. When you disconnect the battery, you are resetting some of the electrical and electronic devices.

bones302

i hope this is electrical and not the security system. If it happens again, I would try to start it with the other key. you might want to consider re-pairing ll the keys with the car.

Chromeshadow

Most meters cannot measure under 2 ohms accurately. I check the voltage across the battery terminals when cranking, should be above 9V, but should drop a volt or two when you turn the key to crank.
I move the meter leads to the connectors and try to crank again, voltages should be the same on both tests.
You can turn on the lights, then try to crank. If the headlights dim, it's trying to crank. If they don't dim, it's not trying to crank.

RazorGT

This is why I keep my car stock.